Daily Number

14.1 megawatts

June 14, 2011

East Windsor, NJ, will soon be home to the largest privately owned, net-metered solar project in the Western Hemisphere, according to the project’s developer NJR Clean Energy Ventures, a subsidiary of New Jersey Resources of Wall Township, NJ. The project, which will have a 14.1-megawatt capacity, will be built on the 50-acre campus of the McGraw-Hill Companies. A net-metered facility means that most, if not all, of the electricity it generates is used at the site.

The new solar farm, half of which is slated to run in December, with the other half up and running by next March, is expected to significantly offset the need for other energy sources to run the company’s 180,000 square foot -- and growing -- data center. Among McGraw-Hill’s subsidiaries are Standard and Poor’s, McGraw-Hill Education, and Platt’s energy information services.

The solar array is expected to produce 18 million kilowatt-hours annually, eliminating 12,687 metric tons of carbon-equivalent emissions, which the company says is equivalent to 2,488 cars.

NJ Clean Energy Services says it will invest $60 million in the project, and expects it will qualify for a 30 percent federal investment tax credit and will be eligible for Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs).